Current Events in US/UK = Academic Boon for Canada?

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Choppy
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The CBC is reporting a drastic rise in international student applications to Canadian universities. University of Toronto applications, for example, are up by over 80%. Many are speculating that this is due to uncertainty generated by the recent actions of the new American president and uncertainty in the UK over Brexit.

One thing that I wasn't aware of was how much money international students actually bring into the country and the economy. According to the article it's upwards of $11 billion annually (probably in Canadian dollars - but still that's a lot of money coming into the country). And that's not just from tuition, but they have to pay for food and housing while they're here.

Is this a case of America's loss translating into Canada's gain? Will it potentially lead to more investment in and growth for Canadian universities over all? Does this mean more competition for university spots for Canadian students?

source:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/canada-foreign-student-cash-us-uncertainty-1.3964602
 

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This would have to happen the year I'm applying to U of T. :oldbiggrin:

I know nothing about the large-scale financial implications, but I'll be interested in seeing if and how affects admission/tuition for us potential domestic students. 80% is quite a spike.
 
It's certainly possible. On the other hand, have there not been previous periods of large spikes in international student applications in Canadian universities -- for example, the Vietnam War during the 1970's and the associated draft dodgers (many of whom enrolled in Canadian universities), the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997 (possibly even the War in Iraq during the 2000s)?

I'm curious if these particular periods in history have also been accompanied with increased investment and growth in Canadian universities.

The other factor to keep in mind is the budgetary situation in the various provinces (the largest source of funding for post-secondary education outside of tuition).